I Bet You're Scared
by DjMinki
Summary: Sakura takes a bet from Kakashi mindlessly. She approves a bet that he wont be able to scare her by the end of the week. Sakura soon learns the consiquences of the bet, who will win? Sucky Summary, just read. R&R constructive critisim welcomed.
1. Chapter 1 The Bet

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of ****its**** characters**

**I Bet You're Scared**

**Chapter One: The Bet**

"What do you mean I scare too easily?!" Sakura shouted, shaking her fist furiously in front of the boy's face.

"Ah, Sakura-Chan, I'm just saying, I didn't mean it like that, Oh please don't be mad..." Naruto begged scratching the back of his head nervously, he was really far down the creek of trouble and his attempts to get out were only dragging him farther in.

Sakura's face was turning a brilliant red.

"Enough you two." Kakashi's lazy voice echoed through the training clearing.

"You've gotten older but you still fight as if you were twelve, stop it." He came to a standing position beside Naruto.

"Yeah, yeah let's stop fighting Sakura." The yellow haired shinobi called, still terrified.

Her nerves were already on edge when she came to training, but Naruto had long since pushed them over.

"What now you're on his side Kakashi-sensei!?" Sakura spat angrily.

Kakashi let a slight chuckle slip through mask-covered lips, "No Sakura, but you were quite excitable; maybe you weren't at the top of your game today." he stated.

Fist began to tighten in an attempt to make her anger subside, but to no avail.

"Yeah, well I wasn't scared; nothing you or Naruto could do would even remotely scare me!" Sakura screamed without thinking.

Eveeryone went completly quiet for a moment. Sakura reliazed what she had just said.

The eye creasing smile that had once been below Kakashi's mask quickly faded.

Sakura's suddenly found confidence dissipated at the quick change of his attitude.

"Would you like to take that back Sakura?" Kakashi asked calmly.

_"How dare he, does he really think he is going to __intimidate__ us?!" _Inner sakura growled.

"Of course I don't!" Sakura said stubbornly folding her arms across her heaving chest. Her breath was heavy from all the screaming. She was too proud to give in that easily.

"Alright then Sakura, would you like to make a bet on that?" He retorted.

Sakura was taken back, had he really just asked they make a bet?

_"Take him on!"_ roared inner sakura.

Eyes wide, Sakura replied slightly shaken"F-fine."

"Okay then, I bet you that I can do something to scare you by the end of this week." Kakashi stated confidently, the smile had played back across his hidden features.

"Okay, but in order to be sure you scared me, you have to make me scream, just to be sure that I was genuinely scared." Sakura retorted smiling at her new condition.

"Alright, that's fair enough."

Sakura scowled, she defiantly thought that would make it seem harder for him, but his relaxed demeanor remained unchanged.

"And, if I win, you have to show me your face." Sakura laughed, she was really good with these conditions.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow questioningly, but continued.

"And If I win, you have to buy tickets to the new Icha Icha Paradise movie and accompany me there."

Sakura winced in disgust. He wanted her to accompany him to one of those trashy smut movies? Was he crazy?

"All right deal." She stated holding out a hand.

He waited, then leisurely shook it, the bet was now made, and she was stuck in it for the rest of the week."

A/N: okay so here it is, my Kakashi and sakura bet story. I hope to make it pretty funny by the end. Anyway I'm going to post the second chapie right after this one so it will probably be up at the same time. I Hope you like it. Please Read And Review. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISICIM IS WELCOME.


	2. Chapter 2 A renewed bet

Chapter Two:

The rays of sun were shining brightly on the pale skinned kunoichi, warming her once cold skin as she ambled through the bustling streets of Konaha. The light breeze licked at luscious locks of fuchsia. Brilliant orbs of jade were very wide, showing intense alertness.

"Knowing him he will try and sneak up on me, using one of those "let's see how high I can make you jump while you scream in terror "moves." She mused.

Ever since training early that morning Sakura had been extremely paranoid. Now on her way to the hospital she refused to let anything pop up on her, not even Kakashi.

Her step slightly hastened as she reached the bend in which the hospital was visible.

"So far so good." She told herself "No sign of him at all."

Sakura smiled when she reached the gigantic doors that stood well above her head. She had made it, without any sign of him what so ever. Or she thought.

"Yo, Sakura." Kakashi called signaling his casual two finger salute her way.

Sakura tensed hearing the velvet like lethargy in the voice that called out close behind her. She turned her head to a slight angle to scowl at her former sensei.

"What!" She snarled. Sakura was not going to let her guard down for even the slightest second, even if it killed her she would win this bet just to prove him wrong.

"Is that anyway to greet me?" Kakashi questioned calmly.

Sakura's frown deepened. She instantly knew what he was doing. He intended to act like the bet hadn't even been made, to try and make her let her façade of paranoia fall if only for a brief moment. Sakura wouldn't allow it.

She stood still, holding the cool metal handle, refusing to turn and all the way around and look at the shinobi behind her.

Kakashi lazily sauntered over to Sakura. Standing beside her he leaned in, placing his head by her shoulder. "Don't worry Sakura; I won't scare you too bad."He lulled smugly.

"Is_ he teasing us?" _Inner Sakura questioned.

Sakura tightened her grip on the poor defenseless handle in her hand, "Don't think you're going to get to me that easy…" Sakura turned to see an empty entrance way. Where had he gone?

Sakura clenched her teeth before letting out a dramatic and quite aggravated sigh.

"Playing tricks on me, what does he think; I can't believe him and his..." Sakura trailed off from the ranting murmur.

Hellos from the staff were heard all around her as she walked though the hallways. Excusing her mood, Sakura smiled politely and returned their kind gestures.

She made her way to the front desk to be greeted by the friendly woman behind the counter. She handed Sakura a stack of papers adding that they were to be finished by the day's end. After thanking the woman she made her way to a small office that had been designated to her from Tsunade. She threw the large stack of papers onto the wooden oak desk. Sakura sat down quickly, not to waste any time, and got to work.

Time passed rather slowly as she finished the final reports. Setting the pen down on the desk she thumbed through the reports to make sure that she hadn't missed any. Sakura sighed in great relief, she had finished them all.

Getting up, the small metal chair behind her was pushed back with the back of her knees. Sakura walked to the metal framed door opening it to find a small white note in her makeshift door mailbox.

"A patient report maybe?" She thought to herself. The thought was quickly ruled out considering that the staff wouldn't leave a note but instead they would alert her and hand it to her personally.

With delicate hands Sakura opened the folded paper in her hands. The note read,

"Sakura, I've left for a mission, our bet will have to continue when I return. My apologies, I intended to end this sooner so it wouldn't get interrupted by any missions soon to come but I see it couldn't be helped. See you when I get back, and stay on your toes." A smiley face ended the paragraph accompanied by a signature that spelled out Hatake Kakashi.

Sakura growled sourly at the note that she possessed in her hands. She walked out of the door keeping the note in her hand at her side. Sakura walked to the front desk then laid her elbow on the counter leaning over she called out to the woman.

"Hey Suki, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this note from Hatake-san would you?"The raven haired woman turned her attention away from the pack of stamped papers to Sakura.

"Oh, yeah he came in about twenty minutes ago. He said he had a message for you and asked if it was okay if he hand delivered it to you." Suki smiled.

"Anything else?" The kunoichi questioned impatiently.

"Um, well when I asked, he told me that he had an A-rank mission and that he just had something to inform you about. That's all he said Sakura-Chan, I'm sorry if I couldn't be any more help."

Sakura smiled at the slightly flushed girl in front of her. "Alright, thanks Suki."

Suki replied, "No problem."

Sakura looked up at the black clock that hung above the file cabinets behind the office chairs. She had a few minutes before her lunch break.

Waving at the girl behind the desk she thanked Suki once again then took the paper, folded it and slid it into her pocket.

She headed for the break room; why not take her break a few minutes early? When Sakura came to the entrance of the small white wash room she was surprised to see Shizune there sorting through what looked like a stack of mission reports like she'd had earlier.

"Shizune, what are you doing here?" Sakura was quite surprised to see her; she was usually busy keeping the Hokage working and not drinking, so she was rarely seen around the hospital unless she was needed for some patient who needed intense work done.

"Hn, Oh Sakura-Chan, I'm trying to get some of these reports filled out since Tsunade-sama does it so slowly, I thought she could use some help. Turns out to be more work than I thought, I started this morning and I'm not even half done."Shizune whined.

"Oh, well do you need some help?" Sakura instantly regretted her offer, her kindness had overcome her and made her forget the fact that she had not only just finished her own pile but it was also supposed to be on break.

The glint in the hard working assistant's eye was very telling; she was defiantly not going to turn it down. Sakura couldn't just take it back now, especially after Shizune looked so hopeful.

"Oh, Sakura would you?"She begged.

Sakura let a light caring smile cross play upon her features. "Why not, it isn't like I have anything better to do. "She lied.

"Thanks so much Sakura, I owe you one!" Shizune said handing a fair share of the stack over with a pen to the rosette haired girl.

Sakura sighed and sat at the small wooden chair next to a small table, then said to herself, "So much for lunch break."

Sakura dropped the pen, cracking her knuckles. Shizune came to a standing position above her.

"How do you do it Sakura?" Shizune questioned smiling happily, picking up the papers and straightening them out.

"I guess paper work is just one of my strong points." Sakura joked.

"It seems so; you helped me finish all of this in half the time it would have taken me alone!"

Sakura smiled and looked up at the small clock in the room. Her lunch hour was over.

"Better get back to work."

"Yeah, I've got to get back to Hokage-sama." Shizune agreed.

Sakura walked to the door frame and said her goodbyes, then returned to the front desk.

"Any new reports to fill Suki-sama?"

"Nope, not at the moment."

"Alright well just tell me if…" Sakura felt something grab at her ankle, she went completely stiff. The smell of blood filled the room and coughing sounds echoed through the quiet hallway. She turned her gaze down to see a silver haired man lying on the floor, mangled, blood washed all around him. Various shuriken and kunai were jutting forth from his body. He choked on the blood that spilled over from his mouth.

Sakura stared down horrified at the scene below her.

"K-Kakashi –sensei!" She screamed in horror.

She bent down to hold the man in her arms.

"Oh god Kakashi- san what happened to you!" Tears built up in the bottom of her eyes, and poured over into pools onto her cheeks.

"S-sakura." His voice came out raspy and hoarse. Sakura bent over him trying to carefully remove the ninja tools that littered his beaten and bruised body.

"What, what is it Kakashi, what happened to you." Her voice was shaky, salty water covered her face. Sakura put her hand on his chest, beginning to push Chakara into his body.

"I-I…Won, you screamed."

Sakura's eyes widened, a poof of smoke clouded her face and a log replaced the man she'd held in her arms.

Suki stood behind the desk watching scared completely confused.

Sakura sat there, shaking in slight jolts as the well known copy ninja casually walked over to her huddled over form relaxed with his hand in his pockets as usual.

He smiled "Sakura I won, you screamed." He said calmly.

Sakura didn't move until her name spilled from his lips again. She wobbly stood from the floor where the substitution log lay.

She looked up to the silver haired ninja in front of her, tears still pouring from her eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness, not anymore. They had transformed into tears of anger frustration.

"Kakashi, you…"Sakura tightened her fist as they shook uncontrollably.

"Uh, Sakura." Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"You jerk, I was worried about you! I hate you…you jerk!" She screamed, Sakura couldn't think of any better word to call him.

Kakashi was surprised by her reaction, he tried to apologize and explain he didn't think she'd get so angry but to no avail. She was too frustrated to even listen.

She ripped the note from her pocket and crumpled it into a ball, then threw it viciously at Kakashi's chest.

He caught it before it hit him. Sakura spat a few more rude names his way then stomped off toward the bathroom.

"Whoa, you made her pretty mad Hatake-san." Suki said still a little confused.

Kakashi turned to her, his visible eye was a little wider than usual. Shock maybe? He wasn't used to Sakura fuming at him like that. Though she had quite the foul little temper she had never actually used it to much on him. He nodded in agreement, and then vanished from her sight.

Sakura stood at the sink in the bathroom. She ran the cold water, letting it pour over her hands. She put wet hands through her pink locks and sighed. Then Sakura washed her face, trying to cool her temper. It seemed that it helped quite a bit. She was breathing regularly again and no longer crying.

Sakura breathed in letting a few curses slide effortlessly from her lips before looking up into the mirror.

When a tall silver-haired jounin was standing there Sakura was surprised to say the least.

"Sakura."

"Kakashi, just go away."

Kakashi sighed, though she was calmed she still had held on to her temper.

"I'm sorry." He muttered lazily

"You should be." She spat rudely. At this point Sakura had surprised herself by keeping her cool.

"Does that mean the apology is taken?"He questioned lightly.

"Hardly." She retorted.

Kakashi sighed. He raised a hand to her shoulder before whispering, "Alright, I'm really sorry."

Sakura rolled her eyes shrugging his hand away, when he did that it made it a bit harder to be angry.

"And if you forgive me, we can restart the bet and not count your first scream." He said grinning, a slight casualness about his voice. He knew he was getting to her and sooner or later she would give in. He just hoped it would be sooner then later because he wouldn't want to do something that might set her off again, then it would be twice as hard to apologize.

Sakura gripped the sides of the bleached porcelain sink before she raised her head to look into the mirror. There stood the tall silver haired jounin, not but a foot behind her. Her eyes meet his through the glass. Sakura frowned and turned her head, sticking out her lip in her pouty way.

"What do you say?"He questioned leisurely.

"I say, you'd better get out of the girls bathroom before someone walks in and sees you." She grinned lightly, trying to hide it.

Kakashi's visible eye creased in a smile. "So I'll take that as you forgive me, and I better start trying to scare you again before the end of the week."

Sakura giggled slightly, "Really, you'd better get going, I hear someone coming." She teased.

"Alright, and remember, we won't count this time, but you'd better keep an eye out or I just might get you." He laughed.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Oh, trust me; you're not going to scare me."

With that a poof of smoke clouded the air behind her. She laughed once more before looking back down to the little white sink below her. She breathed in, readying herself to get back to work.

Just at that moment she felt something fabrics like rub across her calve. Her eyes widened and she stifled a worried gasp. She looked up in the mirror to see the man coming to a standing position behind her. She opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off with the action of Kakashi raising his orange book up, to her sight.

He laughed lazily, "Sorry, forgot my book." As soon as he appeared he was gone.

Sakura giggled once more before walking towards the bathroom door. She grabbed the handle and looked back to where her ex-sensei had appeared. She smiled.

"Too bad Kakashi-sensei almost had me that time."

A/N: Okay sorry, crappy kind of huh? Not the best writing I've ever done that's for sure. Anyways third chapter is coming soon; I'm starting on it right now. Well hope you like it, R&R please. Constructive Criticism is welcome.


	3. Chapter 3 Tricks and Trades

Chapter 3: Tricks and Trades

First of the morning's light was beginning to peak through the sky, littering the ground with small specks of sunlight. It was a brisk cool morning, the birds were singing enchantingly and the trees danced in the cool breeze. Sakura watched as the early rising children all gathered to play a game of chase. Leaves fluttered down in bundles and heaps, cascading down to the ground, and sweeping the floor in a murmuring chant. It was such a beautiful morning in the village of Konoha.

The children ran around smiling and singing "Never going to catch me!" to each other as they chased one another around in what seemed like a never ending game. Yes, it was quite beautiful; she only wished she could enjoy it more.

Sakura walked stiffly through the filling streets. Vendors and grocers were starting to make their first of the day's profits. Sakura had been watching carefully for Kakashi all morning since she had awoken. Though she knew he was late for everything there was no doubt in her mind that he would be trying to finish this bet earlier then the week's end; she knew he wanted those tickets. And not only that but she knew he would take great pride in proving her wrong; he often did anyways.

Gazing around, Sakura took a glance in the direction behind her, just to make sure no one was following. Much to her pleasure, nobody was even remotely close to her. Sakura smiled before turning the corner to a small market place. She had loads of grocery shopping to do and she wanted to do it as quickly as possible.

"Thank you," Sakura said politely, handing the grocer man a big bundle of yin. He smiled graciously, taking the money and wishing her a pleasant day.

Upon exiting Sakura was promptly stopped by the obnoxious, yellow-haired, shinobi that she had come to know so well--enough to call him a friend.

"Sakura-chan!" His voice reverberated off the enclosed space of the market's entrance, reaching her ears at what seemed to be an umpteen amount louder than usual.

Sakura peeked over the large brown bags, wincing at the noise he had created so early in the morning.

"Naruto, not so loud please," She said with a begging tone lacing her voice.

Naruto pursed his lips together then covered his mouth before mumbling a quick sorry. Sakura kindly accepted the apology, and went on to ask what it was he wanted.

"Oh, well I've been looking for Kakashi-sensei, he promised me a spar today but as always, he is late. You wouldn't happen to know where he is would you."

Sakura had wondered why he was up so early. Naruto rarely woke up early unless there was something he had to do or if he had training that day.

"Why would I know where he is?" She questioned rudely.

"I don't know." He rubbed his head before continuing, "I thought maybe because of that bet you made, you might be keeping a close eye on him you know, to make sure he doesn't get you." He paused, his eyes widened, showing that apparently Naruto had just had an epiphany and he planned to speak it. "Oh man, you haven't lost already have you?"

Sakura frowned, making her way to the road. Naruto quickly followed after.

"No, I have not Naruto; I don't plan to." She answered smugly.

"Oh, you're really confident Sakura."

She turned her frown his way.

He looked at her puzzled, replying gingerly, "But that's what I like about you Sakura-chan." He smiled his ridiculously cheesy grin.

Sakura giggled lightly, though she didn't have much time to laugh considering the bags she held were wrestling her arms to get away.

Naruto noticed the uncomfortable shifting of the groceries that Sakura held. It seemed as if they had just sprouted legs of their own, well Sakura's legs at least, because her face was nowhere near visible unless she craned her neck forward.

"Need some help there Sakura-chan?"

Her head poked out almost immediately from one side of the brown sack. She smiled lightly, "It would be greatly appreciated."

Naruto laughed, "Okay."

Grunting Naruto pulled one bag away from the arms of the kunoichi at his side. It was much heavier than it had originally appeared to be. Naruto shifted the bag, carrying it at a slump in front of his body.

"No wonder you were having so much trouble, this is so heavy." He whined.

Sakura rolled her eyes, turning her gaze to him. "Naruto if you're just going to whine about it then I can get it by myself."

"No, no Sakura-chan, I've got it."He smiled back her way.

Sakura sighed thankfully; he really had lightened the load a considerable amount. They kept a steady pace down the small pavement road, side by side. Quiet, peacefully made its way between the two, but only for a few moments before it was interrupted by another comment from the shinobi.

"Has he tried yet?"

Sakura turned her gaze in the direction of her companion who was now looking at her with eagerness. Confusion slowly entwined itself through the girl. Sakura's brows furrowed before she replied.

"What in the world are you talking about Naruto?"

Naruto sighed, "You know, has Kakashi-sensei tried to scare you yet?"

Her gaze moved from Naruto to the bag she held in front of her. Gazing over the enormous amount of food, spices and beauty products she had bought, she replied quietly; a small hint of embarrassment mocked at her tone.

"Yea, he has."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Did he get you?" He questioned.

Sakura flushed. Scared was not quite the word for what she had felt, more like horrified, terrified, traumatized maybe.

"A little bit." She lied.

A boisterous wail echoed through the street. Sakura's head jerked up to see her friend, laughing so hard he was turning a strange hue of pink. Naruto giggled giddily once again before responding.

"I knew he'd get you."

Scowling, she spat back, "Yea well you're the reason I'm in this mess! If you wouldn't have said anything then I wouldn't have gotten mad and well, well, ugh!" Sakura sighed tiredly. The laughing had ceased altogether.

Naruto's eyes were wide, as remembrance from the other day at training ran through his mind. Oh God, he'd done it again and he knew he was in trouble. Though to his surprise her face calmed, and she sighed. She turned a sorrowful gaze his way.

"Okay, sorry. This isn't your fault. I shouldn't have been so hot-headed about it."

Why was it so easy to say it to Naruto but so difficult to back down from Kakashi? She didn't know, but she did know it would have saved her quite a bit of trouble if she would have just ignored his teasing.

Naruto regained himself, pulling his jaw back up so he wasn't gawking anymore. He returned a reply of, "No Sakura, I shouldn't have teased you about it. Sorry." He scratched the back of his head.

Smiling she replied lightly, "It's fine."

"Well I have faith in you Sakura-chan. I know you can win." He flashed a smug grin.

She laughed, "Thanks Naruto."

The two rounded the corner to the apartment building Sakura called home. Naruto followed her up the stairs to her small apartment. Sakura sighed, balancing the bag on the door frame as she pulled out a ball of keys mixed with pink ornaments that adorned the key chain. She quickly opened the door, letting herself and the boy behind her in.

They set the bags down on the table and began to unpack the items.

Naruto's stomach roared loudly, telling him it was due time for his next round of ramen.

"Hungry?"

"Yea, just a little bit." He replied gingerly, rubbing his tummy.

"I have some food around here somewhere."She teased, seeing as though the counters and table were littered in freshly bought produce.

Naruto laughed, "It's okay Sakura-chan, I promised to meet Chouji up at Ichiraku's."

"Oh, okay."

They quickly put the remaining items in their respective spots, talking as they went along. It took a few minutes but they finished before Naruto had to leave.

"Thanks so much Naruto." She interjected.

"No problem. I'd better get going though."

Sakura nodded, and then it hit her. "Oh, wait Naruto, I think I have a free ramen coupon that I never used. If you want it you could have it, you know, in return for helping me today."

Naruto smiled, though he couldn't imagine anyone having an Ichiraku's coupon and not using it.

"Yea, that'd be awesome!"

Sakura smiled. "Okay, one sec."

She walked off to a corner in the large kitchen, pulling a drawer open; she began to dig through what looked like miscellaneous kitchen utensils. She sat there for a moment silently cursing her horribly kept drawer. Soon success was found, along with the coupon.

"Here we go." Sakura walked over to Naruto, and held out the coupon.

Naruto reached his hand out to grab it, but it was quickly snatched away before he could see it. He looked up at Sakura. She had come up with a great idea, and Sakura knew Naruto wouldn't turn it down.

"What?" he questioned.

"If I give this to you will you promise me something?"

"Yea, anything, what is it Sakura-chan?"

She looked down from his eyes, fixing her gaze to his chest.

"If you do happen to see Kakashi-sensei around, make sure you keep him busy for as long as possible, please. I don't want him to have any extra time on his hands to try and scare me or to think of some way to do it either. Not that he would need time seeing as though he is particularly good at it." She scowled, whispering the last bit.

There was a long pause; Naruto stared blankly for a moment, as if registering the request. By now Sakura was burning holes into his blindingly orange jacket.

"So will you?"She questioned interrupting the stark silence.

Naruto grinned devilishly, "Sure Sakura-chan, I can do that."

Sakura smiled, "Thanks so much Naruto." She handed him the coupon, folding his fingers around the limp paper, then gave him a quick hug before shooing him out the door.

"Bye Sakura, and thanks." He beamed, wildly flailing the coupon around.

"Later Naruto, oh and it was no problem."

She sighed, shutting the door. It was a pretty good deal if she did say so herself. It wasn't like she was going to use the coupon and she was pretty sure Naruto could keep Kakashi busy enough for her to have a peaceful rest of the day, _hopefully._

* * *

Why it was that this certain blonde haired kunoichi was so hard to tell a simple "no" to?

"C'mon Sakura, be a friend."

_No, absolutely not._

"Ino, I'm extremely busy to--"Sakura was quickly and rudely cut off.

"Sakura! Please!"

_No, and that's final. Your begging isn't going to change my mind._

"Seriously, Dad is gone for today and the costumers are pouring in, I can't do this all by myself. Sakura, please just a few hours and no longer I promise."

_Just say no!_

"I'll give you free flowers for the next five times you buy here." Ino was begging more than ever now.

_Leave me alone, do it by yourself. You wouldn't help me if I asked. _Inner Sakura was screaming to decline.

"Alright Ino, just this time. You owe me." Sakura accepted. Sadly Inner Sakura's screaming and ranting hadn't changed the fact that Ino was begging and Sakura was too kind hearted to just leave without helping at all.

Ino beamed, "Yeah, thanks so much Sakura. I owe you big!"

Sakura sighed as Ino pointed to the back room and asked that she clean it thoroughly. It wasn't just dirty, it was a pit. Ino probably hadn't even tried to keep it too clean since her dad left a week prior. Though Sakura did feel bad for her, the store was a lot of work to run all by her lonesome.

She quickly got to sweeping. Next was dusting, then scrubbing, then watering the flowers.

The work was tedious and extremely annoying but Sakura got it done in fair time. By then though, Ino was calling for her friend to bundle the purple cosmos flowers with the hibiscus and daffodils.

"Just a minute Ino, I'll have it for you." Sakura guided herself over to the newly watered flowers. Picking the certain blossoms that she had been asked to, and then adding some ornamental grasses to set it off, as she had been taught before. Once she was satisfied with the finished product of arrangement, she began walking towards the front of the store.

Sakura had her head tilted down, admiring her beautiful bouquet she had put together, as she entered through the doorway to the main store.

"Ino, I hope this looks all right. I haven't done flower arranging for quite some time now and…"

"Oh, hey there Sakura." The sound had come from behind her.

Sakura gasped, dropping the flowers in a wild fit of astonishment. After a moment Sakura calmed herself; she knew that voice, far too well. Slowly she turned to meet the collected face of Kakashi, or at least the parts of it that were visible.

"Kaka-shi…"

"Looks like you dropped my flowers." He bent down, retrieving the fallen bouquet.

Surprise turned quickly into anger. "What are you doing here, sneaking up behind me like that?!"

Kakashi looked up, picking up the last flower he stood up, now towering above the girl, though her scowl did not falter.

"Ah, just buying some flowers for my house. Ino said since you were taking so long I should just come and get them from you. There was no sneaking involved, you just weren't paying attention." His eye creased in its usual way to show his amusement under the mask.

She glared and flushed at the same time, though she knew he was right, she wasn't paying attention. Any chance he got she knew he would have taken advantage of; she wasn't sure why she had let her guard down. She supposed it was just because the environment. The Yamanka flower shop was the last place she would have expected to see he ex-sensei.

"I didn't scream." She defended.

"Hm?" Kakashi's eyebrow cocked upwards. "Oh, that. Well I suppose you didn't."

She shook her head in agreement. Had he forgotten? No, of course not, this was Hatake Kakashi she was talking about.

His eye creased again. She looked up at him in frustration. Kakashi extended his arm, the pink flower in his hand meeting the gaze of Sakura.

"What?"She asked.

"Here,"

Sakura opened her hand. He lightly dropped the flower in her palm. She looked up at him questioningly. He simply raised the bouquet up and returned, "I'd better get these home."

Sakura didn't reply she just watched the man exit the store. Dumbfounded, she looked down at the pink daffodil in her hand.

"What was that for?" She questioned. Why would he give her flower? What was he trying to do; trying to get her to drop her guard? Was he just simply being nice? Sometimes that man made absolutely no sense at all. Suddenly an obnoxious sound pulled her from her thoughts.

"Sakura!"

Sakura looked up to see Ino.

"Huh? Yeah what is it?"

"I've been calling you for a while."

Sakura blushed, how long had she been standing there?

"Thanks for your help, but I think I got it now. It's getting late and I'll be shutting down soon, so you can go ahead and go. I really did appreciate the help though."

"Mm, Okay." Sakura agreed, as she caught a glimpse of the darkening sky.

She quickly found her way out of the store and waved a nice good bye to the girl, who returned it and told her to get home. Sakura complied, making her way home swiftly. She didn't even realize she had gotten home so fast. Her feet had guided her there on their own accord. She pulled out her keys, and let herself in, sighing as the breeze of air conditioner hit her promptly as the door opened. She brushed past the kitchen and through the hallway, making it to her room.

A yawn briskly stifled its way out of her throat. Sakura kicked her shoes off before settling herself into her bed, ignoring her day clothes. She yawned once more then cuddled the blanket close. It was then she felt something awkward in her hand. Sakura looked down, noticing the pink blossom still in her palm. She scowled at it, still contemplating why it was given to her.

She incoherently mumbled a few word of anger at the flower then threw it on her night stand, though the words had more been aimed at the silver haired jounin. Sadly though, the victimized flower was the closest in range so it got most of the foul words. Sakura was too tired to try and understand the mysterious ways of Hatake Kakashi, and truthfully at the moment it didn't really matter to her. All that mattered was the silk sheets of her bed and the complete comfort she was experiencing. Within moments Sakura slipped into sleep. She decided she would figure him out tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: Alright, sorry this took so long to get out, but I have a million and one other little stories I'm doing also. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I hope it was well worth the wait. Next chapter should be coming out pretty soon but I'm not making any promises, seeing as though I suck at keeping them. Pleas R&R 


	4. Chapter 4 Ice Cream Goodbye's

Chapter 4: Ice cream Goodbye's

A restless rustling at Sakura's window pane was the sound she had awoken to. Had she not known the familiar hunched silhouette and had she not been able to catch a glimpse of the obnoxiously colored jacket she might have actually been worried about the strange being coming through her window. Sadly though, Sakura knew exactly what and who it had been. In an uninterested attempt to call him over, she raised a lethargic; sleep beaten hand in the air for a moment before letting it fall back to its respective and most comfortable spot at her side upon the fluffy mattress.

A very audible 'oomph' resounded from the young man as he tripped over the night desk stationed below the now open window. Had she been more awake Sakura probably would've laughed uncontrollably, then offered a hand and asked him if he were alright, but she would have already known the answer. He jumped up quickly, trying to reserve the little amount of dignity he had left, not that it really had mattered before he had clambered into her window, and dusted off his jacket. An annoying noise left his lips in an _almost_ careful attempt, well at least for him, "S-s-s-sakura."

Was there a slithering serpent in her room? It had defiantly sounded like it, although if it was a serpent it was a very displeasing and noisy one, and a horrid whisperer at that. She was quite convinced that snake could have probably done a better job sneaking into her window and ruled that out quickly. Another rude snake-like sound broke her silent rant.

"S-s-s-sakura-a-a-a, you awake?" he whispered.

A raspy retort answered, "Well, I _was_."

A small hesitant laugh curled through the air as Naruto scratched the back of head. "Ah, sorry about that Sakura-chan." He laughed again to break the stifled air as he stood anxiously at the drafty window.

Sakura rolled over on the big bed, making a fair amount of room for the boy to occupy, then patted the side next to her in an inviting manner. Naruto smiled before rushing over to the bed, as if the invitation would wear quickly.

He plopped down, settling himself in a comfortable position then sighed in contentment. Then it grew silent. Sakura knew full well that the shinobi was waiting for her to actually act like a somewhat acceptable hostess. She wasn't sure why in the world he would expect this of her after climbing in to her window, not to mention quite loudly, then rudely waking her with his long drawn out calls of her name. Had he even considered the hour? What time was it anyway?

An irritated sigh escaped Sakura's chapped lips as she propped herself up unto a pillow. Now in a position suitable enough to have an actual conversation she questioned Naruto between yawns, "Why are you here so early?" Sakura rubbed at her eyes feebly in an attempt to clear them of the sleeping sand that they had acquired so abundantly.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, it's actually really late. Look out the window, the suns already fully up. You're just late waking today."

Sakura turned her head as directed, not believing the foul falsenesses. Though, as her eyes met with the greeting sunshine through squints, she saw that Naruto was being-- in fact-- quite truthful. The sun had already completely made its way up and was now shining rays of unforgiving brightness down in Konoha's direction.

How had she missed that? Sakura sighed inwardly. Naruto took this as a queue.

"Listen, Sakura about yesterday and the whole Kakashi-sensei thing…."

Instantly at the memory-- Sakura's head jolted up, her gaze quickly moving to the daffodil on the night stand. A nice night of sleep and being awoken by an incredibly noisy dunce had made her forget the earlier happenings of the awkward night before. She scowled at the cursed-in-nine-different-tongues-then-rudely-thrown-aside blossom to her left.

_What in the world was it for?!__'_ She questioned quietly. An incredibly fast and almost incoherent ramble quickly interrupted the perfect silence.

"I had really tried my hardest, because you know that I didn't want to let you down, but he is a sneaky person. You know, it wasn't entirely my fault. He is like ninja times twelve, nobody in the whole village knew where he was. And well after two hours of searching I really got hungry and I wanted to use that coupon. And I had already promised Chouji. And I don't think I could have found Kakashi-sensei if I wanted because he is a jounin and everything…."

"Naruto!"

The ramblings were cut short, thank goodness; Sakura's sanity couldn't have endured another second.

"Yeah?" Naruto twitched nervously.

"I can't understand a single word you're saying." She uttered quite put off.

"Sorry."

Sakura itched her eyebrow before continuing, "It's fine, now please continue…_slowly._"

Naruto breathed in, "Alright, well I tried looking for Kakashi-sensei, you know to help you out, and I found him at first and asked him to join Chouji and myself for ramen. He agreed but said something about changing into his _comfortable__ clothes_first So, we waited before eating, but he didn't show. Eventually I got impatient and I wanted to find him, so I searched the _whole_ village, and even questioned every villager. Not a pebble was left unturned, Sakura. What was I supposed to do after two hours of searching? And people can't search on an empty stomach, right?"

"No Naruto, only you can't search on an empty stomach. _People_ do it all the time."

Quiet remained for a moment before Sakura re-propped herself and epiphany presented itself.

"Wait a second; did you just say his _comfortable clothes_?"

He turned his head questioningly, "Yeah."

Sakura smacked her head, and an audible _whack'_that confirmed it. "Naruto, I know you're a bonehead, but is it possible to be _that _stupid?"

As almost to justify her point he questioned, "What do you mean?"

"Ugh, Naruto when have you _ever_ in your whole entire life of knowing Kakashi-sensei --seen him in anything different than his jounin outfit?"

"Sakura, what are you getting at here? I'm not following."

She rolled her eyes dramatically, "Naruto I seriously doubt Kakashi-sensei has any sort of wardrobe other than his jounin, old anbu, and funeral black outfits."

Naruto at long last had understood what she was saying, "Oh, so you mean he lied to me and wasn't really going to change into different clothes and come to meet me?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes Naruto that is _exactly_ what I am saying."

Rubbing the back of his head he added, "Oh, okay I gotcha," there was a moment of pause before something else hit him, "Well that was really rude of him."

"Well, that is Kakashi-sensei for you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

This was defiantly one of those moments that Sakura was sure they would look back on many years later, at some random rookie nine get together and all laugh hysterically about, joking about how much of a dummy Naruto was for falling for Kakashi's lies, and how stupid of Sakura it was to take Kakashi on in this bet. Sadly though, it wasn't many years later, and there was no get together. And at the current moment, it really didn't sound so funny.

Sakura rubbed her face exaggeratedly, feeling her cheeks warm behind her hands. Once the movements had ceased she questioned.

"So is that all?"

Naruto turned his head to her, "Is what all?"

"Is that all you came to tell me? Because if so, I know now and you can leave so I can sleep." She mumbled on, "My only day off and I get woke up early by an idiot."

"Well no," He paused, "You are so grumpy in the mornings, yeesh," then continued "I actually wanted to tell you that and I also have a mission today."

Sakura shot up. Why hadn't she been told? Why didn't Hokage inform her? She would be late for the mission and….

"Yamato-taichou, _Sai_, and myself." Naruto added.

Wait what? Why hadn't he said her name or Kakashi-sensei's for that matter? Did that mean she wasn't going? They were a team, they were supposed to complete all missions assigned _together._

Before she had a chance to reply Naruto resumed his speech.

"Granny Tsunade doesn't think I act enough like a _teammate_ with Sai. So she is sending me on a mission to gain more of a _companionship_ with him." Naruto puffed, rolling his eyes.

Well that did make sense. Ever since the day Sai had arrived to the team they had never acted very friendly towards each other. Though she didn't enjoy the emotionless artist's jabs at her outer appearance, she had never hated him; well not like Naruto did at least. Sakura could only feel pity for poor Yamato-taichou who had to tag along with them; he would be ripping his hair out by the time he arrived home with the two.

Though the realization that Naruto and the rest of her new team would be gone, by themselves with no medic to watch out for them, hit. What if one of them got hurt, nobody would be there to take care of it.

Instantly she spat out, "How long?" her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Knowing his companion far too well and knowing that she would worry for his safety Naruto grinned reassuringly, "No worries Sakura, only a week at tops."

Sakura frowned. A week without a medic for Naruto was almost equal to sending him off to his death, he was such a klutz. Sakura opened her mouth to speak something about asking the Hokage to reconsider but Naruto intervened first, "I'll be careful," he stuck his pinky out, waiting for her pinky's acceptance, "I promise."

After a moment Sakura looked up at him, catching his gaze in hers, and nodded. "Alright, I trust you. You'd better keep this promise." She added, entwining her finger around his and squeezing.

"Yeah, I defiantly will." He squeezed back.

They both grinned then laughed.

Sakura wasn't entirely sure why she was so comfortable in this moment. She wasn't sure why she hadn't been angry at Naruto for not keeping his end of the deal, or climbing through her window, or even doing it noisily --and in response, waking her up. She wasn't sure at all why or when for that matter she and Naruto had become so utterly contented by each other's presence. The company was actually very cozy.

Though she and Naruto weren't quite as close before, friends were what they had always been. The only difference now was that the bond had grown so much stronger through time. And though he always acted like a complete dunce, Naruto knew and understood Sakura's feelings more than anyone she'd ever met. Truthfully, it was nice to have him around and it had never been awkward as it might have been with someone else. Come on now, who else could climb in her window and be an idiot and not get knocked out with a chakra filled punch, other than Naruto? Absolutely nobody was the answer.

A minute or two had passed serenely between them, but their time together was coming to a quick and untimely close, so Sakura spoke up.

"When are you leaving?"

"Soon, so I'd probably better get going."He said with an inconclusive sigh.

"Oh, well then how about I see you off? I'll dress quickly. Since I have nothing else going on right now it won't interfere with anything."Sakura offered.

"Kakashi- sensei said he'd see us off."Naruto said-- pulling himself off the bed and away from the warmth that had comfortably made its way around the two. He gave a look of indecisiveness.

"So what Naruto? It's a stupid bet, it's not like I hate him or anything, I just want to win." She justified. "And plus, why would I let that get in the way of seeing my friend off to a mission?"

"I guess you're right. I just don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable, you know?"

"I get what you're saying but it won't be in any way shape or form uncomfortable, okay? Just have a little trust in me." She smiled at him kindly, and he nodded.

"Yeah, okay Sakura. I'll wait for you, just hurry up alright?" her replied.

"Mm-hm." She nodded in understanding, and Naruto lead himself out of the door.

* * *

Sakura met back with Naruto, fully clothed and ready to go, at her door step.

"I'm ready to go." She stated, locking the door behind her.

"Oh, good. You didn't take as long as I thought you would." He grinned cheekily.

Sakura rolled her eyes, but all together ignored the joking jab.

"Let's get going, or you'll be late!"

* * *

The walk to the front gates of Konoha was completely uneventful. There wasn't much of any silence, though, despite boring environment. Sakura would've gladly chosen silence over what she got. The time of the short walk was filled with uninteresting and repetitive babblings from hers truly, Naruto.

Sakura sighed in utter happiness when the gates came into view. She was ecstatic when the thoughtless words ended, but that faded quickly when she saw the silver hair of a jounin standing next to the rest of the new team seven and the happiness transformed into alerted frigidness.

Naruto noticed the stiffening of his kunoichi friend and gazed down at her. Remembering what she had said earlier in her room, about there being no discomfort Sakura quickly attempted to fix it, she mustered a quick reassuring fake smile. As sure as she was that Naruto wouldn't fall for it, in its complete false glory, he surprised her and did.

He smiled lightly before looking back up and waving at the group that waited for him at the gates.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, you're actually on time for once!" Naruto yelled his bold grin flashing.

Kakashi did his usual lazy wave, accompanied by the oh-so boring "_Yo_."

Sakura grimaced.

They approached the group, coming to a complete halt. Yamato quickly briefed the team on the mission and checked that they had brought the correct supplies and necessities. Standing as still as a board Sakura quietly listened to the mission that she had not been invited on. It sounded fairly easy; in fact she was surprised it was called a B-rank mission. If she didn't know any better, which she wasn't sure she did, Sakura would have guessed Tsunade had lied about the rank so Naruto wouldn't complain. But nevertheless she still worried for the team before her, and their safety.

When Yamato-taichou questioned if everyone was ready to go Naruto and Sai both agreed without question. As they began saying their good-byes, Sakura remembered what she had placed in her pocket before leaving. It had happened to be a few medic supplies that had all been graciously wrapped up and ready to go for the group. She reached into her pocket and grabbed it, as all the guys finished up.

"Naruto…" Sakura trailed off, holding the packet in front of her. The group all stopped talking and turned to her questioningly. Naruto looked down at the two delicate hands that held the box wrapped in pink cloth then to her face.

"Yeah Sakura?"

Sakura pushed her hands out farther, looking up before she spoke, "For you."

Naruto's gaze steadily fixed back onto the box along with everyone else's.

He smiled and laughed anxiously, "Sakura, I don't really need …"

She interrupted, "Just please take it. If I'm not around to heal any wounds, I at least want you to have something to do it with, yourself."

The smile dropped. He took the pink box from her hand, "Sakura, don't worry too much, okay?"

Sakura looked up, her eyebrows steadily sewn in apprehension.

"I promised you didn't I?"

She nodded, "Yeah, but…"

"I'll be careful." He grinned, "I promise, _again_."

"Alright." She wasn't completely sure why she was so worried; she just didn't like the thought of him going somewhere without her to help him. Even if it was a supposed _B-rank_ mission accompanied by an anbu member _and_ another from ROOTS.

"Well, we'll be going now." Yamato confirmed.

"Okay." Naruto answered, Sai gave an easy grunt to indicate he understood.

Sakura frowned and Yamato reassured, "I'll take good care of him, Sakura."

Smiling she nodded, "Yeah I know."

"Yeah see, he'll take care of m…Hey wait, I can take care of myself!" Naruto yelled.

Everyone laughed. After a second round of good-byes, they were on their way.

Sakura and Kakashi stood, watching the team of three's silhouettes wander farther and farther away. The space between the separate groups grew until neither could see each other. She squinted, standing on tiptoes, when they were no longer visible, hoping that maybe she could defy logic, if only just this once.

Kakashi exhaled quietly, watching as the young kunoichi beside him craned her neck over some invisible wall that seemed to be blocking her view of her no-longer-present companions. He laughed.

As reality surrounded, Sakura snapped back from her futile attempts to see past the horizon, thanks to the awkward chuckle of the man next to her.

"What are you laughing at?" She questioned perturbed.

"If you keep craning your neck like that your head might just roll off."

Sakura frowned noticeably and situated herself back onto the soles of her feet.

"I'm a little too old to believe in lies like that, don't you think."Sakura added, nose upwards.

Kakashi laughed once more, "Take it as you'd like, but I've seen it happen." He lied.

For a half millisecond she _almost_ believed him. He had become quite adapted to lying, and doing it well. Scoffing she shook her head in response. Kakashi sighed back and a moment passed as they stood there quietly. Folded arms had found a place across her chest as Sakura continually gazed towards the place where the team had stood. Her thoughts wandered, imagining the various possible ways Naruto would most likely hurt himself while out on the mission. She nervously shifted her weight onto one foot. Kakashi noticed.

"How does ice cream sound?" He asked, rubbing his chin in a manner to make it obvious he was contemplating it, and breaking the tense anxiety radiating from the girl at his side.

Weakly she turned to look at him. A look pasted itself to her face, questioning his sanity.

"For breakfast?"

"Ah, yeah, why not?"

"Have you forgotten that I'm a nurse? That defiantly doesn't sound like the _well balanced breakfast_ most people are advised to have."Sakura stated professionally.

"Oh, stop over analyzing everything. It's a bit party pooperish." He replied.

"I am not! And pooperish isn't even a word."

He nodded ignoring her statement, waving it off and began walking, "Yeah yeah. C'mon it's alright to break rules sometimes."

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei, wait! Don't walk away from me like that." Sakura stood there, watching as Kakashi moved farther and farther away. She gritted her teeth angrily, he was completely ignoring her. And suddenly it was quiet--very quiet, and she didn't like it. All that could be heard were the echoes lightly ringing from the steps of Kakashi, which were moving away swiftly. Looking around she realized that she was going to be alone if she didn't accept the offer, and at that moment being alone didn't sound so fun. Sakura raised her hand and waved it franticly, "Wait Kakashi, I'm coming!"

He laughed lightly hearing her voice a little ways off. He knew she'd follow.

* * *

"Thank you Sir." The brown haired woman at the small stand said, grasping the ryo from Kakashi's hand and exchanging him for the two medium order of chocolate mint ice cream.

He turned, handing Sakura her cone. She grabbed it and thanked him kindly as they began slowly sauntering down the road.

Kakashi had purposefully offered ice cream, knowing it was her favorite snack. He hated seeing her worried and the anxiety from her was making him tense. So far the plan seemed to be working; he concluded gazing down to Sakura who was happily licking at her frozen treat.

Sakura noticed him gazing at her through her peripheral. She decided to speak.

"That was a mean joke you played on Naruto telling him you were going to change into your _comfortable clothes._"

His eyebrows hitched at the sound of her voice, but he nonchalantly replied, "Well it was dumb of him to fall for it."

She laughed, "I agree, but it was still mean."

He scoffed playfully, watching as she took another lick of ice cream, and then wiped her face with the napkin that had been so graciously provided.

After a moment she spoke again, though this time solemnly.

"You're not doing all this just to scare me are you?"

"The thought had never crossed my mind Sakura. Don't always think the worst of me." Kakashi stated genuinely.

Sakura nodded unsure but accepted nonetheless.

His eyes crinkled with a hidden smile. She returned the gesture before noticing he hadn't touched his ice cream. Sakura pointed at it, slightly begging to drip

"Eat your ice cream-- why don't you. If you're that embarrassed, I won't look." She teased playfully.

"Oh no Sakura, embarrassment has nothing to do with it." He replied. Kakashi's feet came to a halt.

She looked at him questioningly waiting for him to continue. Kakashi began walking towards a brightly painted bin that wore a banner around it that said "No littering" in bold letters. He stood dangling the ice cream cone above it.

"I just don't like mint chocolate is all." The ice cream dropped from his hand, making a cracking sound as it met its untimely end at the bottom of the trash.

Sakura stood there, mouth agape and wide eyed. Kakashi had just thrown away a perfectly good ice cream. He hadn't even touched it. Even after spending a fair amount of ryo on it. Though for him she concluded it must be chump change with all the S-Rank missions he took.

Kakashi grinned, "Well I've got to get going. I have something I need to take care of." He gave a quick wave, and with a large poof of smoke he vanished. It was a scene that seemed all too familiar to Sakura.

Sakura stood completely still, staring complacently at the spot the smoke had been. She looked down at her half eaten ice cream cone, no longer wanting any of it. Sakura scowled at it.

"Damn it Kakashi-sensei, why do you always do this!"

* * *

A/N: Heheheh... Sorry I made you all wait so long. I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this and stay up to date with it even though I've been the worst procrastinator in the entire world. I hope this was enjoyable. I'm not entirely satisfied with the way this chapter ended but it will have to do, because I'm sooo incredibly sick of writing this one. It's soooooooo long! XD

BTW, I apologize for not including the days over the course of the week but each chapter is another day. The bet started on a Monday and the chapters go from there. I'm sorry for being so forgetful and not putting that in. Thank you again to everyone who has read and reviewed this. Your reviews are greatly appreciated and I enjoy hearing that you enjoy it.


End file.
